The new Census Bureau data on income and poverty reveal that many of the
economic trends in this country are a lot more favorable than America's
detractors seems to think. In 2007, overall real median family income
increased to $50,233, up $600 from 2006. The real median income for
intact families -- mother and father in the home -- rose to $78,000, an
all-time high.

Although incomes fell sharply in the U.S. after the dot-com bubble burst
in 2000 (and still haven't fully recovered), these latest statistics
reflect a 25-year trend of upward economic mobility. More important,
Barack Obama is wrong when he states on his campaign Web site that the
economic policies started by Ronald Reagan have rewarded "wealth not
work." Based on this false claim -- that the rich have benefited by
economic growth while others have not -- he intends to raise tax rates
on high-income individuals.

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http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/ED-AI168A_Laffe_NS_20080914181615.gif

To be sure, there has been a massive amount of wealth created in America
over the last 25 years. But tax rates were cut dramatically across the
income spectrum, for rich and poor alike. The results?
When all sources of income are included -- wages, salaries, realized
capital gains, dividends, business income and government benefits -- and
taxes paid are deducted, households in the lowest income quintile saw a
roughly 25%% increase in their living standards from 1983 to 2005. (See
chart nearby*; the data is from the Congressional Budget Office's
"Comprehensive Household Income.") This fact alone refutes the notion
that the poor are getting poorer. They are not.

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For the rest of the story go to:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122143692536934297.html?mod=opinion_main_comment...

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"Just the facts Ma'am!"